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What’s better than a wine and whiskey festival? Try a wine and whiskey festival combined with a meet and greet from Brookfield Zoo’s amazing animal ambassadors! The Winter Wine and Whisky Fest is this Saturday, February 23rd, at the Brookfield Zoo Discovery Center. Enjoy samples from over 30 different wines and whiskeys, live music, tasty treats, and more!

Visit the Chicago Zoological Society’s official website for additional information and to purchase your tickets today. Tickets include parking, admission to the zoo, admission to Winter Wine and Whisky Fest, and a commemorative 5 oz glass. Stop and smell the rosé at Brookfield Zoo’s Wine and Whiskey festival -- you’re sure to have a “spirited” time!

Are you tired of whining about winter? Then come to downtown Libertyville and Wine About Winter at their Mainstreet Libertyville wine tasting. This Saturday, February 16th, bring your friends and enjoy a tasting of delectable wines while shopping in Libertyville’s wonderful downtown center. Participating merchants will be showcasing delightful wines and also appetizing treats as well as their products and services.

Visit the official event website to get your tickets today! All ticket holders will receive a commemorative wine glass, a $10 coupon for participating merchants, and a shopping bag filled with coupons and specials from the event sponsors. This event is sure to be fun for all … not attending would be a “pour” decision.

Starting over in a new community can be stressful. It requires effort to make new friends, find the best places to eat, and to learn your way around. But, if you are to willing venture out and explore, integrating into your new city doesn’t have to be daunting. Here are a few tips to help you with the process:

The Essentials

Depending on your age and interests, what you consider essential will vary, but virtually everyone should know where to shop for groceries, pick up a prescription or get a good meal. Beyond the essentials, what is important will certainly differ and finding these places is not really all that challenging. We live in the internet age where a wealth of information on just about everything, including your new city, should be right at your fingertips. So, initially, let your fingers do the walking.

Using the Internet

Start by checking out Google Maps. If you enter your address, a map of your area will pop up. Type an asterisk (*) into the search field to find everything of interest in the area. For a more specific search, enter the information you are seeking, such as “Thai Restaurant”, “Pharmacy” or “Furniture Store”. Matching results will display on the map and sidebar. The side bar will also show a star rating and contain a link to written reviews and the business’s website. In addition, you can easily map a route from your home to any of these locations and to your place of business.

Ask for Advice

While the internet is great, it cannot replace the actual recommendations of people you trust. So if you know anyone in your new town or city, consider checking with those folks for information that the Internet cannot provide. Also consider a social media shout out for local input on Facebook and/or Twitter asking for recommendations and advice about your new city. This will combine the power of the Internet with important native insights from those in the community.

Meet New People

While you can certainly discover great restaurants, entertainment venues, local parks and night spots in the city, nothing can replace having friends to share good times, increase your fun, and help to ease your adjustment to a new home and location. So, make that concerted effort to personally connect with locals in your new city or town.

Use Your Hobbies

Many friendships are rooted in shared interests. So, if you have a hobby, sports you enjoy, or other activity that drives your pleasure and time, use it to meet new friends. Whether it’s your golf game, children’s activities, or your love of music or painting, undoubtedly there are others in your new city with similar tastes and affections. An easy way to connect with people in your area whose interests mirror your own is through local Facebook groups and the site Meetup.com. So try to find a group of people who share your interests and consider trying a meet up.

Help Out in the Community

Community service is an excellent way to meet some great, civic-minded people. When you take initiative and do some good within your community, it becomes more than just the place you live and work. So consider volunteering time to municipal activities for another path to a quickly acclimate.

If you try these ideas, you’ll inevitably meet new people with common interests, learn about your new town and neighborhood, find things to do with people you enjoy, and feel a sense of real comfort in your new surroundings.

When you are ready to make that move, feel free to contact me today for a consultation. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have about Chicago’s North Shore, North or Northwest Suburbs real estate. Alternately, if you are leaving the area and need a reference to a skilled real estate professional in that new location, I can provide a reference for you at no cost. Don’t hesitate to ask – I would be glad to help you identify the right person in your new area.

Enjoy resort-like living in this one-of-a-kind home w/a spectacular setting on .71-acres of serene riverfront and golf course. A grand circular drive leads to an inviting two-story slate entry overlooking the huge living room with vaulted ceilings and a large picture window. This spacious multi-level hillside two-story provides fabulous views from huge rooms including an eat-in kit with granite counters and marble floors, and a separate dining room, both opening to an expansive rear balcony.

An immense Master Bedroom suite features a huge custom-fitted walk-in closet, riverfront views and a private bath with granite counter. Three more family bedrooms on two levels and two more full baths make this a great family home. The massive ground-level family room features a large raised-hearth fireplace, wet bar and sliders out to the patio and sprawling backyard.

Additional extras include zoned HVAC, an attached three-car tandem garage, large dry basement and amazing location only two doors to Spring Lake Park! This unique home, in a totally unique setting on a high and dry home site, provides endless possibilities for the next lucky family!

Are you dreaming of the tropics on these cold Chicago days? Look no further than the In the Tropics Orchid Show at the Chicago Botanic Garden for a tropical infusion in the midst of winter. February 9th through March 24th, this year’s orchid show will feature more than 10,000 orchids in bloom, paired with sweeps of bromeliads and birds of paradise capturing the spirit of the islands, beaches, and rainforests in places like the South Pacific and the Amazon. Warm up inside the Orchid Show Greenhouses and Galleries and check out the live Morning Music with Orchids on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For additional information and to purchase your tickets, visit the official Chicago Botanic Garden website. Escape the cold and take a tropical holiday at the In the Tropics Orchid Show.

When getting ready to sell your home, one of the first, and most important, steps you can take is to disconnect your emotions. Unfortunately, this is often difficult for many sellers and particularly problematic when you have lived in your home for a number of years. Regardless, it is crucial to the success of selling your home.

Not surprisingly, for many sellers, the value of their home frequently ties to their emotional attachment to the home. That said, however, it is nonetheless important to recognize that buyers will not have the same emotional attachment. Prospective buyers typically search for a house they can make into their own. Resultantly, it is imperative that sellers set emotions aside when preparing to list their home.

Preparing your home for sale presents a prime opportunity to de-clutter your home, a step that simply cannot be avoided when moving to a new location. Inherently, moving can be a tremendous undertaking. But by decluttering upfront before your home is even listed, sellers gain two benefits from that single effort. Those include both dramatically improving the way your home shows and additionally reducing the end work needed as the actual move approaches. If you have lived in your home for many years, the process of packing may seem even more overwhelming. A great place to start is packing mementos and other personal belongings. Although they may present a strong emotional tie for you and your family, they can be distracting for many prospective buyers. When showing your home to buyers, the goal is to create a vision that helps buyers to imagine living in your home. Removing as many personal possessions as possible can help to accomplish that result.

It’s best to consult with your real estate agent for suggestions on de-cluttering and preparing your home in advance for its future sale. You’ll also want to pay careful attention to his or her market analysis of your home’s value. The suggested listing price provided to you will be based on real comparable sales prices of similar homes in your area. By disconnecting your emotions from the equation, you should be able to fairly price your home and increase the chances of an expedient sale at top dollar.

Making the decision to sell your home can be challenging. Mastering how to put the brake on your emotions will help to streamline the process and provide a more successful outcome.

If you have any questions about the buying or selling process, please contact me. I would be happy to answer any questions about the real estate market and how to make it work best for you.

Check all the boxes in this exceptional, expanded Chadwick Square two-story -- upsized with two additions, updated and upgraded where classic and contemporary decor combine in airy open spaces with exquisite timeless appeal.

This extraordinary home features a formal living room and separate dining room; a spacious island kitchen with breakfast bar, big eating area, "to-ceiling" Leicht cabinetry, bay window, granite counter tops and an adjacent laundry/mudroom; a family room with feature wall of built-ins, inviting gas fireplace and sliders opening out to a fabulous three-season sun room with cathedral ceiling, four skylights and access to the backyard and patio.

The second floor includes a huge master bedroom suite with a two-room renovated spa-like bath and a massive customized closet. Additionally, four large family bedrooms featuring two with walk-in closets, two with 9.5' ceilings and one with its own private balcony provide great options for all family members.

On the lower level, the family-friendly full finished basement includes a media area, recreation and game areas, a full bath, big mechanical/utility room with a workshop and an office or sixth bedroom -- ideal for nanny, maid or guest. Located with easy access to Deerfield's popular town center, Metra station and highways, this stunning home includes a huge pavered patio and fenced yard with majestic mature trees.

Fulfill your great expectations with style and grace here!

To view the full description and collection of photos for this home please visit www.1123Wayne.com!

Calling all hot cocoa lovers! The Long Grove Cocoa Crawl is this Saturday, February 2nd. You first stop should be at the Long Grove Visitors’ Center to pick up your map of participating businesses. Then, proceed on and enjoy your time visiting contributing vendors and sampling delectable cocoa-inspired treats while shopping in Long Grove’s quaint and inviting downtown that’s filled with charming stores and restaurants. Lastly, return to the Visitors’ Center where you can enter your name to win various prizes being donated by the participating stores.

Visit the Long Grove official website for additional information. Be sure to bring your friends and family -- you are sure to have a “choco-lot” of fun!

Tucked on a quiet dead-end street you'll find this lovely center-entry two-story Colonial featuring an inviting slate foyer flanked on one side by the formal dining room and on the other side by the step-down to the expansive living room. The family room with sliders opening to the patio and eat-in kitchen with a bay window both overlook the lush backyard.

On the upper level you'll find a wide-open hallway leading to all family bedrooms and the master bedroom suite complete with its own true sitting room, ideal for use as an in-home office, exercise area, or private den. Oak floors span the entire 2nd floor as well as the family room, dining room and living room.

A full finished basement includes a huge recreation room complete with a large wet bar and an unfinished storage, workshop and mechanical area. The main floor laundry room, located off the kitchen, includes access to the two-car attached garage and a convenient side door. Combine a great floor plan with limitless potential and location nearby to park and schools in this appealing classic!

To view the full description and collection of photos for this home please visit www.613Huber.com!